During the oil crisis of the 1970s, FC-EVs entered the international spotlight. Recognizing that alternatives to fossil fuel would help ameliorate future crises, and aware of the building environmental concerns about fossil fuel production, transportation and use, U.S.-funded researchers worked to refine fuel cell technology in the decades that followed.

In 1993, Ballard developed the first proton exchange membrane fuel cell bus. In 1994, Daimler introduced the first generation of modern fuel cell vehicles, the NECAR 1, powered by Ballard fuel cell stacks. Large stationary fuel cells were developed for commercial and industrial operations throughout the 1990s.

In 2002, Toyota launched limited leasing of its fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) in the U.S. and Japan. The following year, the European Union launched the European Research Area (“ERA”) project, which included the building of the European hydrogen and fuel cell technology research and development platform. The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a $1.2 billion initiative aimed at catalyzing hydrogen and fuel cell technology in transportation.

Since 2011, the Chinese government has successively issued top-level plans to encourage and guide the research and development of hydrogen and fuel cell technology. In 2013, automakers created a partnership (H2USA) for fuel cell vehicles commercialization and infrastructure development; partners included Ford, Nissan, Daimler, GM, and Honda. In 2014, Japan approved the fourth Strategic Energy Plan that clearly spelled out the use of hydrogen and compiled a strategic roadmap for an integrated approach to hydrogen production, storage, transportation and applications.

That same year, Toyota launched the Mirai, marking the first commercially available fuel cell vehicles, followed by Hyundai in 2015. This created excitement about FC-EVs being the transportation technology of the future.

In 2018, Germany test-operated the world’s first hydrogen-powered trains, manufactured by French company Alstom. Countries and companies across the globe are driving the technology forward. Through a combination of governmental policy, technology advancement, and industrial involvement, fuel cell applications are now entering a golden era of advancement.